open your Bible with me to First
Chronicles chapter 16. First Chronicles chapter 16. We'll begin in verse 8. First
Chronicles 16, 8. In the context, David has just
brought the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem, sitting in the
place where the temple would be built. That Ark of the Covenant
covered with the mercy seat, of course, was typical of and
represented our Lord Jesus Christ, the accomplishment of redemption
by his sacrifice of himself on our behalf. He declared that
we are reconciled to God by the precious blood of God's darling
son. and bringing the ark up on that
day, David called for all Israel to worship God with thanksgiving
and praise. Verse eight, give thanks unto
the Lord. Give thanks unto the Lord. Oh, God teach us to walk before
him with constant thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is always in season. And every sinner redeemed by
Christ's precious blood, every sinner redeemed by the blood
of Christ has reason always to give thanks to God, to lift his
heart to God in heaven, thanking him both for his being and for
his great mercy. Call upon his name. The word
call simply means worship. Men call on the name of the Lord,
they worship Him. Whosoever shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. That doesn't mean that you get
somebody to say, I believe in Jesus, they're saved. It means
to worship Him, to worship Him. We call on His name and we can
only give thanks to Him as we worship Him as God. Give thanks to Him, calling upon
His name. reverencing Him as God, sanctifying
Him, setting Him apart from all others, hallowed be His name,
bowing to Him, trusting Him. Go on, verse 8. Make known His
deeds among the people. Our business in this world is
to make known the deeds of our God, His works of creation. In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. God's creation, all the wonders
of God's creation. His works of creation are things
that display his power and his Godhead and his works of providence. You know this in theory. I know this in theory. God teach
us every day in the experience of His grace to know it in heart. All that comes to pass in time,
all that comes to pass in time is brought to pass deliberately
by the purpose of God in His providence. There are no such
things as mistakes or accidents in God's universe. God rules
everywhere all the time, so that the very thoughts of a man's
heart are ruled by God according to his own purpose of grace toward
his people. Everything in heaven, everything
in earth, and everything under the earth. All men, all angels,
and all devils are ruled absolutely by our God so that everything
that comes to pass in time is brought to pass by God graciously
accomplishing his purpose. The world was created so that
in this world God might have a race of people whom he would
redeem and save by his grace, by whom he would show forth his
great glory. And the glory of God, that is
the revelation of God's glory, is in the saving of his people
and this is accomplished by his grace and by his orderly arrangement
of providence. Read the 107th Psalm and see
how God uses providence to bring his people to repentance and
faith in Christ. And then declare to the people,
among all people, God's works of grace. Oh, make known God's works of
grace. The religious world in which
we live is consumed with man. And the songs that folks sing
are consumed with man. People get up and sing these
songs, spiritual songs, religious songs, call it what you will.
And the center is I and me, my experience and my thoughts and
my deeds. Not so in the book of God. Read
the Psalms. The hymn book of God's church
sings praise to God for his wondrous works, especially his works of
grace, particularly election and redemption, particularly
the saving of our souls, him keeping us by his grace. Read
on, verse nine. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto
him. There's no better way to move
our hearts to thanksgiving than by lifting our voices in song
of thanksgiving. Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before his presence with singing. Let our mouths be filled
with laughter and our tongues with singing that the heathen
may say, the Lord hath done great things for them. Several years
ago, Sam, we were out here, several of us, and Eric was helping you
mow. And you folks, Eric's a pretty
good-sized boy. He was when he was a little boy.
He was on that tractor, and he was bigger than the tractor.
And going up and down, he was whistling and singing. And Bobby
Estes said to me, he said, that's a happy young man. Listen to
him. And you could hear him singing over the roar of that motor and
watch him whistle. Those who are gods have every
reason to sing his praise continually, and singing his praise lifts
our hearts to him in thanksgiving. Verse nine, talk ye of his wondrous
works. Again, our songs should be filled
with praise to God for his wondrous works, teaching and admonishing
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing
with grace in your hearts to the Lord. When we speak of any
event, any act, any blessing, any judgment, any promise, any
joy, or any sorrow. I want to repeat that deliberately.
When we speak of any event, any act, any blessing, any judgment,
any promise, any joy, or any sorrow, we're speaking of God's
works. things are of God." That's Bible
language. All things are of God. We should always be conscious
of that fact and acknowledge it with humble praise. Glory
ye in his holy name. His name, Jehovah Jireh, The
Lord will provide. His name Jehovah Nisseh, the
Lord our banner. His name is the Lord our shepherd,
the Lord our healer, the Lord our sanctifier, the Lord our
peace, the Lord our savior, the Lord who is there, the Lord our
God. Give glory to his name. Let the heart of them rejoice
that seek the Lord. Hold your hands here in First
Chronicles and turn over to Philippians. It's a very familiar text of
scripture. Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four. Let the heart of them rejoice
that seek thee. Philippians 4.4. Rejoice in the
Lord always. And again, I say rejoice. how
often our God teaches us to rejoice in Him. Rejoice in Him all way. Even when your heart is breaking,
when your life seems to be turned upside down, when you're hurting,
rejoice in the Lord all way. We don't rejoice in all things. We give thanks to God for all
things. But we don't rejoice in pain,
we don't rejoice in heartache, we don't rejoice in suffering,
but we rejoice in the Lord our God in the midst of those things
and give praise to Him. Verse five, let your moderation
be known unto all men. The word moderation is gentleness,
ease. Your ease, your ease of mind,
your peace. Let your moderation be known
to all men. The Lord's at hand, the Lord's at hand. So be careful
for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving, that your request be made known to God. Bow to
him, give thanks to him, take your load to him, cast it on
him who cares for you and the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding. shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. Peace that the world can't understand. Peace that can't be explained
on any human terms. Peace, the peace of God will
keep. The word is guard, as a sentinel
guarding you. The peace of God will guard your
heart and mind through Christ Jesus. Back in First Chronicles,
First Chronicles 16, 11. Seek you the Lord. Seek you the
Lord. Folks who seek him know their
need of him and know they must have him. Seek you the Lord and
his strength. Seek his face continually. Remember
his marvelous works that he have done, his wonders and the judgments
of his mouth. His works, his wonders, his judgments. They're his works, his wonders,
his judgments. Well, what are you talking about,
David? Oh, ye seed of Israel, his servants, ye children of
Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the Lord our God. His judgments
are in all the earth. God's chosen ones, his church,
his elect, are his Israel. They are the seed of Jacob, the
children of Jacob. Be mindful always of his covenant. Always be mindful of his covenant. I just read, just a few minutes
before Lindsay got here, he was the first one to get here tonight,
reading an article. I have no idea who wrote it,
but it was just outstanding. And he referred to a believing
man who, just before he died, spoke to his troubled family,
and he said, it's okay, the covenant's firm. Be mindful of his covenant,
always of his covenant, the word which he commanded to a thousand
generations, even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and
of his oath unto Isaac, and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for
a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant. Now look what it says
here. This covenant is God's covenant. It's the covenant he
made with Abraham. the covenant, the oath that he
gave to Isaac, and the same thing that he confirmed to Jacob as
a law, and that which he gave to Israel as an everlasting covenant. The covenant's referring to God's
everlasting covenant of grace and peace that is demonstrated
and reflected in the covenant he made with Abraham. The same
thing is called the sure mercies of David. And we know that this
is the covenant he's talking about because in Hebrews chapter
8 and in Hebrews chapter 10, or chapter 12 rather, that's
what he says it is. Read on. Verse 18. Saying unto
thee, I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance,
when you were but few, even a few and strangers in it. And when
they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another
people, he suffered no man to do them wrong. Yea, he reproved
kings for their sakes. When we think about the Old Testament
scriptures and reference to the land of promise, to the land
of Canaan, to that land where God said he would plant his people,
don't ever think simply about that material, physical part
of the earth in the Far East. It's not talking about that piece
of land we call Israel. It's talking about God's grace
and God's salvation in Christ and heavenly glory at last. He
said, now as I gave you this land in covenant, I promised
you everlasting salvation, and the type, being the children
of Israel, going to land of promise. As they wandered through the
wilderness, they passed from one kingdom to another, and he
suffered no man to do them wrong. Did I read the Bible wrong? I
read the book of Exodus. Man, everywhere they went, people
opposed them. Everywhere they went, people
opposed them. But no man did them wrong. No man injured them. No man harmed them. No man hurt
them. Everything was but for their
good to bring them along the directed path ordained by God
at last to possess the land of His promise and all the covenant.
He reproved kings for their sakes. This is what it said, touch not
mine anointed and do my prophets no harm. No wonder David says
in verse 23, sing unto the Lord all the earth, show forth from
day to day his salvation, declare his glory among the heathen,
his marvelous works among the nations. For great is the Lord,
and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above
all gods, for all the gods of the people are idols. But the
Lord Jehovah made the heavens, Glory and honor are in his presence. Strength and gladness are in
his place. Give unto the Lord ye kindreds
of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. You
can't give God anything. He's talking about ascribing
to him. Ascribe to God, the triune Jehovah, he who is our Savior,
all glory, all strength, all praise, he alone is God. Verse 29. Give unto the Lord
glory, the glory due unto his name. Bring an offering and come
before him. Worship the Lord in the beauty
of holiness. Fear before him all the earth. The world also shall be stable,
that it be not moved. Let the heavens be glad and let
the earth rejoice and let men say among the nations, the Lord
reigneth. Oh, what good news. The Lord
reigneth. The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. We read in Revelation 19, 6.
This one who is the Lord who reigns is Jesus Christ, our God,
our Savior, seated on his throne. How blessed it is to know. Oh,
my soul, how blessed it is to know that he whose hands were
pierced with nails as he hung on the cursed tree to redeem
my soul holds the reins of absolute sovereignty in all the universe. The Lord reigneth. So let the
sea roar. and the fullness thereof. Let
the fields rejoice in all that is therein. Then shall the trees
of the woods sing out at the presence of the Lord, because
he cometh to judge the earth. Skip down to verse 34. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord,
for he is good. For his mercy endureth forever. Our God is good. Our God is good. good in all
his person, good in all his ways, good in all his works. In fact,
the very word God is an abbreviation of the word good. Our God is
good. Verse 35. And say ye, save us,
O God of our salvation, and gather us together and deliver us from
the heathen. that we may give thanks to thy
holy name and glory in thy praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
forever and ever. And all the people said, that's
just the way I want it. Amen. And praised the Lord. Turn over to 1 Thessalonians.
1 Thessalonians chapter five. I can't help myself every time
I refer to this passage of scripture, I have to tell you the first
time it had meaning to me. I was a young man going through
some difficulties. I thought at the time they were
trials, kind of like a baby father when he tried to walk. I was
just a young believer, and I thought surely what I was going through
was going to destroy me. And I came to this passage of
scripture, 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 16. Rejoice evermore. Pray without
ceasing. In everything, give thanks. In everything, give thanks. How come? For this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Merle Hart and Lindsey Gamble. And all you who are gods, whatever
it is you presently experience, be it joyful or painful, be it
that which you would choose or that which you would refuse,
whatever it is that you presently experience, this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. And His will is best. His will is best. Oh God, make
my will one with yours. We always have great calls to
give thanks to God if we trust Christ. In fact, in proportion
to our faith in our Savior, we're content with him. and content
with his wise and good providence. And if we're truly content, we're
thankful, thankful for all things and thankful in all things, knowing
that all things are of God. When our hearts break and when
our hearts rejoice, when we're weeping and when we're laughing,
when our barns are empty or when our barns are bursting with fullness,
When the Lord takes away and when the Lord gives, in everything
give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you. Turn back to Colossians chapter
one. Colossians chapter one. The Spirit of God specifically
tells us everything we experience Whatever we're experiencing at
this present time, whatever we experience tomorrow, whatever
we have experienced, this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you. I repeat then, thanksgiving is
always in season. Every child of Adam living on
this earth ought to lift his heart to God in heaven. giving
thanks to him for his great mercy. Anybody outside hell has reason
to give thanks to God. Thanksgiving is always in season
for all men. But if you and I are in Christ, if God has made us partakers
of Christ, saved us by his grace, if we're heirs of eternal life,
Our hearts ought to be filled with thanksgiving to God continually. Nothing should ever interrupt
our thanksgiving. We ought to constantly give thanks
to Him in all things. Look at Colossians 1 verse 12.
Here the Spirit of God gives us several specific reasons for
giving thanks. You who are gods, tell me if
this is not reason enough. giving thanks unto the Father,
which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light. He's made us fit for heaven. He's given us perfect righteousness,
complete atonement, utter forgiveness, and made us to be new creatures
in Christ. Verse 13, who hath delivered
us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear son, in whom we have redemption through his
blood. What is that? The forgiveness
of sins. Look at verse 15 of chapter three. Paul picks up the same subject.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. to the which also
ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful." Thanksgiving
is the will of God. Thanksgiving is the secret of
peace in this world. Thanksgiving is an act of faith
that's most honoring to God. The natural man may express thanksgiving
for what he has in his hand. the natural man. He may be thankful
when God sends a bumper crop, when the price of beef has gone
up and all the crops are well taken care of, the barns are
full, everything's good, plenty of money in the bank, children
are all healthy, the wife and children are all healthy, everything's
going great, and he gives thanks for what he's got in his hand.
The believer is not that kind of man. The believer is thankful
for what he has in his heart. what he has in Christ, even when
he has nothing in his hands. He's thankful. Thankful because
that which we have, we have in Christ. I was reading the other
day the book of Ecclesiastes again. The book of Ecclesiastes is written
by a man of wisdom, a man wiser than all the men who lived on
the earth in his day. Solomon wrote out his wisdom
for us by divine inspiration in the Book of Proverbs, in the
Song of Solomon, and in the Book of Ecclesiastes. The Book of
Ecclesiastes is confusing to most people, terribly confusing.
People think that Solomon is writing, expresses himself almost
as if he were manic depressive, just terribly depressed. No,
Solomon is giving us two views of things, two views of things. The natural man, whether he's
religious or not, the natural man looks upon the world and
seeks satisfaction. You are an immortal soul. God made you for eternity. We live on this earth just for
a short breadth of time, but you've been made for eternity.
And man who is made for eternity, foolishly seeks satisfaction
in this world. And if you seek satisfaction
in wife or husband or son or daughter or land or money or
name or recognition or fame, you seek satisfaction with anything
here, you have to come away saying vanity of vanities, all is vanity,
saith the preacher. Never does anyone have enough
of any of the things he seeks. The believer, on the other hand,
has all things in Christ, no matter how little he has in
his hand. You who are Christ have all things. God says, all things are yours. He performs all things for you. And Christ is our pearl of great
price. He is our treasure. He is our
portion. And for us, we will call on the
name of the Lord with satisfaction and delight and thanksgiving.
All the blessings of grace freely bestowed on us in Christ are
those things for which we should be thankful. Be thankful, be
ye thankful for God's electing love. Praise the Lord, for the
Lord is good. Sing praise unto his name, for
it is pleasant. For the Lord has chosen you unto
himself for his own peculiar treasure. What a statement. What a statement. People object
to the doctrine of election. because they object to God being
God. Folks say, well, you think you're
something special. And I used to respond when I
was more ignorant than I am now, and I once was a little more
ignorant than I am now. I used to respond, no, no, no, no, no,
no, nothing special about me. Listen in now. You're right. I am something special. God says
so. He said, I made you honorable. You are a peculiar people to
me. You are my crown, my treasure,
my boast, my diadem. Oh, God hath not appointed you
to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore
the apostle writes, we're bound to give thanks all the way to
God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chose you to salvation. God chose you as
his own. God made you his own. Be ye thankful for your redemption
by the precious blood of Christ. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he hath visited and redeemed his people. We think of redemption
in the way the religious world commonly does not. The religious
world commonly thinks of redemption as a opportunity God gives men. Redemption being something God
made possible for men. But the scriptures teach otherwise.
The scriptures tell us that our redemption should be a matter
of great unceasing thanksgiving because it is special. It is
particular. It is distinctive. It is effectual
to the saving of our souls. It's plenteous redemption. The
Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. Christ has redeemed
me with his precious blood. That's something the world knows
nothing about. We have reason to give thanks. Be ye thankful. For with that redemption you
have the pardon and forgiveness of sin. God says, I, even I am
he that blotteth out thy transgressions and will not remember thy sins. To be redeemed is to be forgiven. God through the blood of Christ
does what no man can do. He freely, completely, constantly,
eternally forgives the sins of his people. The forgiveness took place before
the war began. The forgiveness took place at
Calvary when Christ died for us. The forgiveness is pronounced
in our own consciences when he gives us faith in Christ. And
the forgiveness anticipates the sins of the future, so that even
before we transgress, our sins are forgiven us. If any man sin,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous,
and he's the propitiation for our sins. Be ye thankful for
God's adopting grace. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons
of God. Chosen as God's sons, heirs of
God and joint heirs with Christ. A couple back in the days when
you could adopt children without so much paperwork and red tape.
decided they would adopt a child, and they made arrangements to
go to the adoption agency. And they had things arranged
for the couple when they got there, and as the couple drove
up and they got out of his car, he and his wife, and they were
walking up the sidewalk, and some little fella stepped out
from behind the bushes and threw a rock at him. And he turned
around and looked at him. His wife looked at him. And they
went on in. And the adoption agency was there. The lady representing
them had a beautiful little blonde-haired girl picked out for them and
had her all dressed up and her hair curled. brought her in and
presented her and told her what a lovely child she'd make and
they looked at her and they were impressed and they kept looking
at each other and finally the man looked at the agent and said,
as we were coming in, as we were coming in, there was a little
red-headed freckle-faced boy out there behind the bush who
threw a rock and hit me with it. And she said, oh, I'm so
sorry. She said, you know, we've got
59 children here up for adoption. That's Johnny. He's number 60. And the man looked at his wife,
and his wife looked at him and said, would you bring him in?
He said, well, you don't want him? He said, we might. Look
up here. My name's Johnny. I'm number
60. made the sons of God. Imagine that. Nobody in the world would have
wanted me. Nobody. But God, before the world
was, chose me as his own. Be ye thankful for the Spirit's
factual, irresistible, regenerating grace. Of his own will begat
he us with the word of truth. The new birth regeneration, being
born again, is not the work of man. It's not the result of man's
will. Rather, it is the work of God's
spirit, the irresistible work of God's spirit. The reason we
believe is because God graciously worked faith in us and works
faith in us. He, by the arrangement of his
providence, brings you to hear the word. and by the power of
his grace causes you to hear the word, and by the work of
his grace in you causes you to believe. Be you thankful for
the blessed victory that's ours through grace. Thanks be unto
God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Christ, we shall triumph over all our enemies, the world, the
flesh, and the devil. If we belong to God, we shall
not fail to win this warfare. Yes, we're in the midst of a
warfare. I think particularly not just the evil around us.
Bad as that is, there's something worse going on. It's the evil
that's in us. And I would despair of any hope
of triumph, except we believe God. And we believe salvation
to be God's work, salvation by God's grace. And we are always
winning this warfare. We shall persevere. because we're
preserved by grace. We shall be delivered from this
body of death, and our very bodies shall be delivered from the grave.
So be ye thankful. As you gather with your families
for your Thanksgiving celebration, give thanks unto the Lord. Give thanks unto the Lord. Oh God, teach us And God give
us grace to teach those we influence to walk before him by faith and
walking before him by faith to give thanks always and for all
things through Christ Jesus the Lord. Amen.